Majallah-i Dānishgāh-i ̒Ulūm-i Pizishkī-i Bābul (Jan 2008)
VITAMIN E EFFECTS ON AFLATOXIN B1- INDUCED LIVER CELLS IN ALBINO NMRI MALE MICE
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Aflatoxins (AFs) are the most dangerous to human health because of their highly toxic, carcinogenic, teratogenic, hepatotoxic and mutagenic characteristics. Aflatoxins consist of a group of approximately 20 related secondary fungal metabolites although only aflatoxins B1 (AFB1), AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2 with toxicity AFB1>AFG1>AFB2>AFG2 which are normally found in foods. AFB1 is considered to be major risk factors in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in humans. The present study was carried out to determine the toxic effects of AFB1 on liver cells and restraining its effect using vitamin E (α-tocofrol).METHODS: In this experimental study, the AFB1 was extracted from aspergillus flavous fungus cultivated in synthetic SLS (Sodium lauryl sulfate) medium and silica gel thin-layer chromatography. Then 40μg AFB1, 2mg vitamin E, 40 μg AFB1+ 2mg vitamin E were dissolved in 0.2 ml olive oil (as a solvent), separately. These solutions fed to 50 young white Albino- NMRI mice (with weighing approximately 32-34 grams) which divided into 5 random groups including: control (0.2 ml water), dissolver (olive oil), Vit E, AFB1 and AFB1+Vit E, daily up to 30 days. In the 31st day, liver samples were prepared for microscopic studies. FINDINGS: There was an increasing in the size of liver cells, cell boundaries were indistinct, and some of the cells were destroyed. The sinusoid volume had decreased and in some case was completely undistinguishable. Furthermore the numbers of large nucleuses were more than small nucleuses. In cells with two nucleuses, the border between the 2 nucleuses was more often indistinct and had shown interference with each other or seemed to have incomplete cells division. The size of liver cells in the AFB1+Vit E group showed an increasing (1117.5±2.5 μm2) as compare to control group (1116.5±2 μm2). But this difference between AFB1 (1116±1.2 μm2) and AFB1+VitE groups were significant (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Vitamin E acts as a reductive compound against the toxic effects of oxidant substance in foods such as AFB1 and its reductive effects concerning the hepatotoxicity of AFB1 is probably the result of NADPH-oxides gatherings and halt in the production of super oxides.
